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United Republic of Brazil
The United Republic of Brazil is a large nation in South America. The Republic incorporated itself in 1985 after the collapse of the Brazilian military regime. The former governments of Argentina and Brazil joined in that year forming the United Republic of Brazil and later in 1986, the countries of Uruguay and Paraguay had joined and two years later, Bolivia. With a standing population of estimated 252 million and a GDP of $3.1 trillion, the United Republic is one of the largest and most economically strong countries in the world. Brazil's government first formed in the 1985 formation is a federal constitutional republic, similar to the United States, and its current leader is President Mercedes Verónica Silva. History Colonization The land now called Brazil was claimed by Portugal in April 1500, on the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese encountered stone age natives divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves. Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization was effectively begun in 1534, when Dom João III divided the territory into twelve hereditary captaincies, but this arrangement proved problematic and in 1549 the king assigned a Governor-General to administer the entire colony. The Portuguese assimilated some of the native tribes while others were enslaved or exterminated in long wars or by European diseases to which they had no immunity. By the mid-16th century, sugar had become Brazil's most important export and the Portuguese imported African slaves to cope with the increasing international demand. Through wars against the French, the Portuguese slowly expanded their territory to the southeast, taking Rio de Janeiro in 1567, and to the northwest, taking São Luís in 1615. They sent military expeditions to the Amazon rainforest and conquered British and Dutch strongholds, founding villages and forts from 1669. In 1680 they reached the far south and founded Sacramento on the bank of the Rio de la Plata, in the Eastern Strip region. At the end of the 17th century, sugar exports started to decline but beginning in the 1690s, the discovery of gold by explorers in the region that would later be called Minas Gerais (General Mines) in current Mato Grosso and Goiás, saved the colony from imminent collapse. From all over Brazil, as well as from Portugal, thousands of immigrants came to the mines. The Spanish tried to prevent Portuguese expansion into the territory that belonged to them according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, and succeeded in conquering the Eastern Strip in 1777. However, this was in vain as the Treaty of San Ildefonso, signed in the same year, confirmed Portuguese sovereignty over all lands proceeding from its territorial expansion, thus creating most of the current Brazilian borders. In 1808, the Portuguese royal family and the majority of the Portuguese nobility, fleeing the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon I that were invading Portugal and most of Central Europe, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the seat of the entire Portuguese Empire. In 1815 Dom João VI, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, elevated Brazil from colony to sovereign Kingdom united with Portugal. In 1809 the Portuguese invaded French Guiana (which was returned to France in 1817) and in 1816 the Eastern Strip, subsequently renamed Cisplatina. Independence From Colonialism After the Portuguese military had successfully repelled Napoleon's invasion, King João VI returned to Europe on April 26, 1821, leaving his elder son Prince Pedro de Alcântara as regent to rule Brazil. The Portuguese government, guided by the new political regime imposed by the Liberal Revolution of 1820, attempted to turn Brazil into a colony once again, thus depriving it of its achievements since 1808. The Brazilians refused to yield and Prince Pedro stood by them declaring the country's independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822. On October 12, 1822, Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil and crowned Dom Pedro I on December 1, 1822. At that time most Brazilians were in favor of a monarchy and republicanism had little support. The subsequent Brazilian War of Independence spread through almost the entire territory, with battles in the northern, northeastern, and southern regions. The last Portuguese soldiers surrendered on March 8, 1824 and independence was recognized by Portugal on August 29, 1825. The first Brazilian constitution was promulgated on March 25, 1824, after its acceptance by the municipal councils across the country. Pedro I abdicated on April 7, 1831 and went to Europe to reclaim his daughter’s crown, leaving behind his five year old son and heir, who was to become Dom Pedro II. As the new emperor could not exert his constitutional prerogatives until he reached maturity, a regency was created. When the monarchy was overthrown on November 15, 1889 there was little desire in Brazil to change the form of government and Pedro II was at the height of his popularity among his subjects. After the death of his two sons, Pedro believed that "the imperial regime was destined to end with him." He cared little for the regime's fate and so neither did anything, nor allowed anyone else to do anything, to prevent the military coup, backed by former slave owners who resented the abolition of slavery. At the beginning of the republican government it was little more than a military dictatorship, and the new constitution restricted political rights, such as the right to vote, yet provided for direct elections to be held in 1894. Getúlio Vargas, supported by the majority of military, led a coup d'état and assume the presidency. Vargas and the military, who were supposed to assume the government temporarily to implement democratic reforms related to 1891's Constitution, closed the Congress and ruled with emergency powers, replacing the states' governors with their supporters. Under the Claiming of the broken promises of changing, in 1932 the oligarchy of São Paulo tried to regain the power and in 1935 the Communists rebelled, having both been defeated. However, the communist threat served as an excuse for Vargas to preclude elections launching another coup d'état in 1937, creating a full dictatorship. In May 1938, there was another failed attempt to take over the power by local fascists. Brazil remained neutral at the beginning of World War II until the Pan-American Conference of January 1942 when Brazil stood alongside the United States severing diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. In retaliation, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy extended their submarine warfare against Brazil, which led the country to enter the war on the allied side in August of that year. With the allied victory in 1945 and the end of the Nazi-fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown in another military coup. Democracy was reinstated and General Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president taking office in 1946. Having returned to power democratically elected at the end of 1950, Vargas committed suicide in August 1954 amid a political crisis. Several brief interim governments succeeded after Vargas's suicide. Juscelino Kubitscheck became president in 1956 and assumed a conciliatory posture towards the political opposition that allowed him to govern without major crises. The economy and industrial sector grew remarkably, but his greatest achievement was the construction of the new capital city of Brasília, inaugurated in 1960. His successor was Jânio Quadros, who resigned in 1961 less than a year after taking office. His vice-president, João Goulart, assumed the presidency, but aroused strong political opposition and was deposed in April 1964 by a coup that resulted in a military regime. The new regime was intended to be transitory but it gradually closed in on itself and became a full dictatorship with the promulgation of the Fifth Institutional Act in 1968. Between 1968 and 1985, uprisings against dictatorship by the people demanding equal rights and Democracy broke out both in Brazil and Argentina and by 1983, the dictatorships were overthrown. In 1985, the Argentinians and Brazilians formed the United Republic of Brazil at which point the civilians fully returned to power in 1985 which elected their first President, Damion Gaulban. Current Republic President Gaulban passed Acts in the Congress to ensure the rights of the citizens to maintain Democratic power in the government to prevent future risings of dictatorships like in the past. The right to vote for all people was a major accomplishment. The weakening of the power of the military to interfere with the government was also ensured to keep military led coups and dictatorships from forming. Several notable military officials who maintained strong pro-dictatorship views were exiled in 1988. The same year, the government passed a highly popular law which made it a crime for any government or military official to try to go against the will of the people and the Constitution, which was ratified in 1989. These actions secured Gaulban's re-election in 1989 where he continued his Democratization of Brazil into 1993. Gaulban could not run for re-election in 1993 so his son, James Gaulban ran instead and won by a landslide. He continued much of his father's work. James' economic reforms sparked a strong industrial growth in automobile manufacturing, defense industry, energy industries such as ethanol and oil and boosted the Brazilian's already giant mining and agricultural sectors. This sparked later development in electronics, microchips and other various consumer goods that would become popular in the 21st century. James Gaulban was re-elected in 1997, under which his new term as President, re-entered Brazil as a nuclear nation with the research and development of nuclear technology for both energy sources and defense, making Brazil a nuclear weapons power in 1998. In 2001, President Isabel Mencia was elected and maintained her office until 2005, who accomplished little in her time and followed by President Madea Viola from 2005 to 2009 who formed strong ties with the Union of Everett. Viola's administration ensured further ties and alliances with the West which would prove useful during the 2010 Yarphese War invasion of the Falkland Islands and during World War III. Viola was defeated in the 2009 elections by current President Mercedes Silva. Silva from 2010 to the present ensured Brazil's status as a world power during World War III and its alliance with the Planetary Alliance For Freedom. Silva was notable for being the first fully homosexual President in Brazil, following Isabel Mencia, who was known to be bisexual. Silva maintains strong ties with Everetti President Kaitlyn Rachel Spencer. During Silva's administration, she accomplished getting Brazil a spot on the United Nations Security Council, entering membership with the G8 Forum and its membership with PAFF between 2010 and 2012. Geography Brazil occupies a large area along the eastern coast of South America and includes much of the continent's interior, sharing land borders with Chile to the west and southwest, Peru to the west, Colombia to the northwest and Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana to the north. It also encompasses a number of oceanic archipelagos, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. Its size, relief, climate, and natural resources make Brazil geographically diverse. Brazil is the second largest country in the world, and largest in the Americas, with a total area of 5,017,612 square miles. Brazilian geographic location comprises a great variety of terrains and climates, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, tropical rainforest, mountain glaciers, desert and scrublands. Much of the terrain lies between 660 ft and 2,600 ft in elevation. The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country. The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills. The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 3,900 ft. These ranges include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar. In the north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point above sea level is in the Mendoza province at Cerro Aconcagua at 22,831 ft, and the lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz province, −344 ft below sea level. Brazil has a dense and complex system of rivers, one of the world's most extensive, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic. Major rivers include the Amazon (the world's second-longest river and the largest in terms of volume of water), the Paraná and its major tributary the Iguaçu (which includes the Iguazu Falls), the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and Tapajós rivers. Environment The natural heritage of Brazil is severely threatened by cattle ranching and agriculture, logging, mining, resettlement, oil and gas extraction, over-fishing, wildlife trade, dams and infrastructure, water contamination, climate change, fire, and invasive species. In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development. Construction of highways has opened up previously remote areas for agriculture and settlement; dams have flooded valleys and inundated wildlife habitats; and mines have scarred and polluted the landscape. At least 70 dams are said to be planned for the Amazon region, including controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. To prevent the threat of damage to wildlife in the rainforests, Brazil has taken advantage of vertical agriculture technology, constructing large tower structures that are used to farm. Many of the vertical farming towers also house cattle, chicken and pig farms. Government The United Republic of Brazil has a federal constitutional republic form of government. The Brazilian executive branch is led by the President and his Vice President and his cabinet made up of the ministers of each department of the federal government. A legislation exists of the Brazilian Congress and the Brazilian Senate which vote on and pass bills which are signed into law by the President or vetoed. The judiciary is maintained by the Judicial branch of government which led by a council of Justices, ensures that laws follow the order of the Constitution. The Constitution is the highest form of law in Brazil which lays out the Republic's government foundation and the rights and freedoms of the people as specified in the Article of Rights. The President and his Vice are elected to their positions by the people in a nationwide vote to a limit four years per term with no more than two terms per President. Similarly, many other executive government positions are elected by the people and not appointed by the President. Congress and Senators are also elected by the people to their terms which are limited to four years and a maximum of two terms. Judicial Justices are elected as well by the people to the same. Foreign Relations Brazil maintains peaceful relations with much of the world and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, which it attained the position in 2011 and is a member of the PAFF, G8 Forum, Organization of American States, G4 Nations, ICC, IMF, Interpol, WHO and WTO. Brazil aligns itself with the West heavily since the Falkland incidents in 2010 involving Yarphei. Its pro-Everett stances in foreign policy make relations with several countries tense including in the Middle East and Africa. Brazil is a member of the PAFF's Global Liberation Force (GLF) and a major staging nation in the Disaster Response Agency (DRA). Military The Brazilian Armed Forces is the national military force of the United Republic of Brazil. Divided into three primary branches, the Brazilian Air Force, Brazilian Navy and the Brazilian Army Corps. The Army Corps are further divided into three service branches, the Army Corps, the Brazilian Special Forces and the Brazilian Elite Combat Unit, the two latter of which, function in special combat roles involving secrecy, covert operations and black operations. The Brazilian Army Corps is made up of a total active troop count of 1,250,000 soldiers and another 1,750,000 soldiers in the Army Corps Reserves. The Brazilian Army utilizes both domestically produced military equipment and technologies and vehicles purchased in trade from foreign allies such as the Union of Everett, Europeans and other North American powers. The Army Corps maintains two sub-branches for special warfare. The Brazilian Special Forces are the primary special combat operations force, comparable with the United States Navy SEALs. A more secret military branch is the Elite Combat Unit (BECU) which similarly operates covert missions but is widely secretive and not known. The Brazilian Air Force consists of a personnel count of 350,000 active employees. The Air Force maintains authority over the Army Air Guard as well. The BAF maintains a total of 5,987 combat aircraft, which 3,950 of them are Air Force and the other 2,037 make up aircraft in the Army Air Guard and Navy Air Force. The Air Force also maintains squadron of over 600 unmanned combat aircraft (UAV) and an estimated count of over 2,000 cruise missiles and a reported 625 intercontinental ballistic missiles. The BAF has military control of the nation's nuclear and fusion weapons stockpile which is reported by the Air Force to number at 250 warheads. The Brazilian Navy consists of a total maritime personnel count of 278,000 crew and officers which serve on 253 sea faring combat vessels. Of the 253 vessels, Brazil possesses seven aircraft super-carriers and another 18 landing carriers which carry helicopters and unmanned combat aircraft. A large portion of the Brazilian navy is made up of submarines. Brazil is known for its specializing in unmanned sea craft including unmanned submarines, known as unmanned submersed vehicles (USV) and many unmanned patrol vehicles. Culture The core culture of Brazil is derived from Portuguese and Spanish cultures, because of its strong colonial ties with the Portuguese and Spanish empires during its colonial periods. Among other influences, the Portuguese introduced the Portuguese language, Roman Catholicism and colonial architectural styles. The culture was, however, also strongly influenced by African, indigenous and non-Portuguese European cultures and traditions. Some aspects of Brazilian culture were influenced by the contributions of Italian, German and other European as well Japanese and Arab immigrants who arrived in large numbers in the South and Southeast of Brazil. The indigenous Amerindians influenced Brazil's language and cuisine; and the Africans influenced language, cuisine, music, dance and religion. Religion Brazil possesses a richly spiritual society formed from the meeting of the Roman Catholic Church with the religious traditions of African slaves and indigenous peoples. This confluence of faiths during the Portuguese colonization of Brazil led to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the overarching umbrella of Brazilian Roman Catholicism, characterized by traditional Portuguese festivities, and in some instances, Allan Kardec's Spiritism (most Brazilian Spiritists are also Christians). Religious pluralism increased during the 20th century, and a Protestant community has grown to include over 15% of the population. The most common Protestant denominations are Pentecostal, Evangelical, Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, Lutheran and the reformed churches. Roman Catholicism is the country's predominant faith. Brazil has the world's largest Catholic population. According to the 2000 Demographic Census, 73.57% of the population followed Roman Catholicism; 15.41% Protestantism; 1.33% Kardecist spiritism; 1.22% other Christian denominations; 0.31% Afro-Brazilian religions; 0.13% Buddhism; 0.05% Judaism; 0.02% Islam; 0.01% Amerindian religions; 0.59% other religions, undeclared or undetermined; while 7.35% have no religion. Brazil has the largest Jewish population of any country in Latin America. Language The de facto official languages of Brazil are English, Spanish and Portuguese. Brazil is the largest Spanish and Portuguese speaking society. Brazilian Portuguese has had its own development, mostly similar to 16th century Central and Southern dialects of European Portuguese (despite a very substantial number of Portuguese colonial settlers, and more recent immigrants, coming from Northern regions, and in minor degree Portuguese Macaronesia), with some influences from the Amerindian and African languages, especially West African and Bantu. As a result, the language is somewhat different, mostly in phonology, from the language of Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries (the dialects of the other countries, partly due to the more recent end of Portuguese colonialism in these regions, have a closer connexion to contemporary European Portuguese). These differences are comparable to those between American and British English. Brazilian Spanish universally employs voseo (the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú (you), which occasions the use of alternate verb forms as well). The most prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, whose speakers are primarily located in the Río de la Plata basin. Italian and other European immigrants influenced Lunfardo, the slang spoken in the region, permeating the vernacular vocabulary of other regions as well. Media The print media industry is highly developed, with more than two hundred newspapers. The major national newspapers are from Buenos Aires, including the centrist Clarín, the best-selling daily in Latin America and the second most widely circulated in the Spanish-speaking world. Other nationally circulated papers are La Nación (center-right, published since 1870), Página/12 (left-wing), Ámbito Financiero (business conservative), Olé (sports) and Crónica (populist). The most circulated newsmagazine is Noticias. Radio broadcasting in Brazil is predated only by radio in the United States, and began on August 27, 1920, when Richard Wagner's Parsifal was broadcast by a team of medical students led Enrique Susini in Buenos Aires' Teatro Coliseo. There are currently 260 AM broadcasting and 1150 FM broadcasting radio stations in Brazil. The Brazilian television industry is large and diverse, widely viewed in Latin America, and its productions seen around the world. Brazilians enjoy the highest availability of cable and satellite television in Latin America, similar to percentages in North America. Continued spread of the technology has made the Republic the most developed nation in Latin America. Economy The Brazilian economy is one of the world's largest with a nominal GDP of over $3.1 trillion annually. Brazil is a leading exporter of agricultural products, automobiles, defense technology, electronics, computer systems and hardware and energy industry such as petrochemicals and biofuels. The Brazilian economy is one of the fastest growing due to reforms of the Gaulban administrations in the 1990's which allowed the region to become a business haven. Brazil is abundant with natural resources and is a large exporter of agricultural products (coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, beef, grapes, honey, maize, sorghum, squash, sunflower seeds, yerba mate), mining and mineral goods (iron, manganese, nickel, tin, borate, chromite, uranium, bauxite, beryllium, copper, lead, tungsten, zinc, gold, sulfur, silver) and various raw materials (timber/lumber, oil, petroleum, ethanol products, natural gas). Industrial attempts at fighting South American leaf blight has allowed for an increase in rubber production and export. Brazil also is a major global exporter of wine. Brazil also exports medicinal products, plants, herbs and other natural resources used in pharmaceuticals. Manufacturing is also a major source of Brazil's economic power, including the production and export of food processing and beverages; motor vehicles and auto parts; refinery products, and bio-diesel; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; steel and aluminum; and industrial and farm machinery; electronics and home appliances. The country's auto industry has increased significantly since the 1990's with its own home brands of Troller and Unimog Auto Group and the acquiring of major European auto maker Volkswagen, who moved headquarters to Brazil. Brazil's automotive industry produces an average of 8.7 million motor vehicles annually, sold worldwide. Its defense industry produces domestic arms such as small arms, military vehicles (tanks, personnel carriers, helicopters, planes) and shipbuilding. Brazil also produces and researches A.I. drone and droid technologies and is one of the primary funders in researching future android technologies which may one day lead to biological android robotics and more advanced prosthetic limbs and organs. Healthcare Brazilians are granted the right of Universal healthcare paid for by the government. Universal healthcare laws also ensure the rights of all Brazilian citizens to receive equal non-discriminatory care. As a result of increasing HIV cases in the country, Brazil has played major roles since the 1990's in research and funding of HIV/AIDS prevention and vaccination development. Unlike many countries, Brazil is non-discriminatory against gay blood and organ donors. Brazil's healthcare coverage includes protection for foreign nationals vacationing in Brazil and covers the costs of emergency hospital treatment. Technology Brazil has an advanced society. Modern technology is readily available to the general public. Cell phones, computers and other forms of the latest technology are frequent among many consumers. Internet networks continue to spread allowing more of the population even in remote areas access to the world wide web. Brazil notably has developed a space program, the Brazilian Space Exploration Administration (BSEA). Brazil's space program maintains a grid of satellites for communication, defense and observation. BSEA possesses eight reusable space craft similar to the United States shuttle program. The shuttles utilize ion propulsion to take off like a plane and then angle upwards to launch into space. Brazil has an orbiting space research station in orbit of Mars yet continues to maintain a role in the ISS project. The country is a nuclear nation and has fully developed nuclear and fusion power facilities. Brazil is also nuclear and fusion weapons armed. A large portion of energy comes from nuclear and fusion sources. Brazil has also developed solar, wind and hydro dam power. Geo-thermal power and clean coal energy are researched for clean energy resources. Motor vehicle fuel research has lead to developments in clean bio fuels and hydrogen burning engines. Many new cars run on these fuels in Brazil. Brush-less motor systems are now in full development to increase efficiency of current hybrid technology. Brazil's military capabilities include stealth aircraft, unmanned drones, stealth submarines, laser and plasma weapons, railguns, nuclear and fusion weapons. Category:United Republic of Brazil Category:Countries